CENTRE MEN’S BASKETBALL TAKES ON KENTUCKY The Centre men’s basketball team will play an exhibition contest at Kentucky this season, taking on the host Wildcats in Lexington on Friday, Nov. 3 at Rupp Arena. Said Centre Head Coach Greg Mason: “We cannot thank Coach John Calipari, DeWayne Peevy and Kentucky Basketball enough for agreeing to this exhibition. November 3rd will be a fun night for our players, our staff, our alumni, and our fans. We are very appreciative of this opportunity.” Centre tickets for the event sold out in five hours, and a waitlist numbering in the hundreds signed up for a chance to purchase a ticket for the event. Centre’s office of Alumni Engagement is also hosting a pre-game reception at Tony’s of Lexington. Before tip-off, Colonels fans will gather from 5-7 p.m. in one of the most successful alumni tailgating events to date. The Colonels will also receive national exposure with the exhibition, which will air on the SEC Network and can be seen on the Watch ESPN mobile app.
COLONEL CONNECTIONS - CAWOOD LEDFORD ‘49 WAS INDUCTED INTO THE CENTRE ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME IN 2006. LEDFORD SERVED AS THE RADIO PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER FOR THE WILDCATS FROM 1953-92 AND IS ALSO A UK ATHLETICS HALL OF FAMER. - WILL BARTON IS A MEMBER OF THE MEN’S BASKETBALL STAFF AT KENTUCKY, SERVING AS THE DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL ADMINISTRATION. BARTON PLAYED FOR CENTRE IN 2008-09, WHEN THE COLONELS WENT 23-5 AND ADVANCED TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT.
WHAT AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REPRESENT CENTRE COLLEGE AND PLAY AGAINST THE GREATEST TRADITION IN ALL OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL.
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- Greg Mason
CENTRE STUDENT-ATHLETE FUN FACTS - AMONG CENTRE’S NEARLY 600 STUDENT-ATHLETES, 34 STATES ARE REPRESENTED - 177 OF 401 INCOMING STUDENTS THIS FALL ARE STUDENT-ATHLETES - OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, 45% (363 OF 802) OF THE INCOMING CLASS WERE RECRUITED STUDENT-ATHLETES
INAUGURAL CENTRE LOUISVILLE GOLF OPEN A SUCCESS On Monday, August 14th, Centre College Athletics hosted the Inaugural Centre Louisville Golf Outing sponsored by Sterling Thompson Insurance at the Audubon Country Club in Louisville. One hundred golfers participated in the inaugural event, with the proceeds - more than $45,000 - directly supporting our more than 600 talented student-athletes. Famed artist Stephen Powell donated a hand-blown glass piece, and raffle tickets were sold for $100 each. The proceeds from the raffle sales were split equally between the Praying Colonels fund and the Glass Gift fund. Thank you, Stephen, for your support of the Centre Louisville Open! A special thanks to head golf professional Eric Gililand ’93 and all of the members and staff at Audubon Country Club for hosting our event. The outing was successful through the excitement, support, and hard work of the committee members. We thank them for embracing this event and for their commitment to Centre Athletics and our student-athletes.
CENTRE’S FANTASTIC FIVE 2016-17 FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
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1. DESTINIE GRAVES 2. NICOLE DEHERDE 3. SERENA GALE-BUTTO 4. SARAH HAYHURST 5. ANNIE RODENFELS
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WOMEN’S SOCCER FIELD HOCKEY CROSS COUNTRY DIVING & POLE VAULT STEEPLECHASE
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NEWS & NOTES
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1. After months of anticipation and work, Amend Field had its grand opening on Sept. 3 as the Centre men’s and women’s soccer teams each hosted tournaments. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey caused the opening night’s contests to be postponed, but play resumed on the weekend as the Centre men defeated Georgetown (Ky.) and Spalding, while the women’s team played Wittenberg to a scoreless tie. 2. In September, Centre Athletics launched Centre Spotlight, a near-weekly long-form video series highlighting the more personal side of collegiate athletics. Subjects thus far have included Centre football defensive coordinator Carter Conley ’02 and his incredible story from the team’s summer trip to Ireland, the new replay system implemented at volleyball for the 2017 season, freshman and USA Soccer Deaf Team member Gracie Fitzgerald, and most recently, a focus on siblings, featuring multiple interviews with student-athletes whose brothers or sisters played or are currently playing at Centre. 3. Centre will induct four more members into its prestigious Athletics Hall of Fame this year. The late William Botts Jr. ‘84 was a four-year letterwinner in both football and track and a four-time conference champion in the shot put. Sarah Green-Robinson ’02 was one of the best rebounders in Centre women’s basketball history and a key member of Centre’s 2000-01 team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Jeff Floyd ’98 started at five different positions on the football field, was the punter on the SCAC 15th Anniversary team and was among the best and most versatile Centre baseball players ever, setting school records for doubles and strikeouts per nine innings. Steve Lubbe ’94 was a defender on the SCAC men’s soccer team and a member of Centre’s first conference championship teams in 1990 and 1991. 4. For the third consecutive year, Centre hosted Gold Out Week, raising money at women’s soccer and football games for childhood cancer research. The highlight of the week was the football game against Hendrix, as families affected by childhood cancer served as honorary team captains and went out onto the field with Centre’s game captains for the opening coin toss. Between the t-shirts sold during the week and a raffle for a signed football helmet, Centre ended up raising $2,790 for the Kids’ Cancer Alliance, the most money raised for a Gold Out initiative thus far.